by Lora Edwards
“Flynn, what did you hit them for,” Delphine asked, hands on her hips.
“We need them unconscious. Hurry, there is some rope in my satchel—we need to bind and gag them before they wake. We cannot have them alerting the others,” he said, not looking her in the eye.
Erik and Ovidia grinned at each other as they helped Flynn tie up the men and drag them farther into the woods.
“We could have used a spell to put them to sleep,” Delphine mumbled with a glare in Flynn’s direction.
He ignored her comment as well as the grins on the faces of his other companions as he finished restraining the unconscious guards.
“That’s a neat trick you have there Delphine.” Erik winked at her, changing the subject neatly.
“Thank you,” she said primly before turning back to the manor house as Erik and Ovidia cinched the last knots in the binding of their captives.
“Hey, look at this,” Ovidia said quietly, looking at something on the underside of the arm of the guard she had tied up.
The others gathered around and looked to where Ovidia pointed. There on the man’s skin was a tattoo.
“That’s interesting. Do you think it marks him as a member of the society,” Delphine asked, looking around at the others.
“Only one way to find out.” Flynn quickly turned the other two men over and looked at their arms. “These two have the same mark.”
“This will make them easier to recognize. Let’s get into the house—I am ready to kick some ass.” Ovidia growled and pulled her glowing sword from its hiding place at her side. As a Valkyrie, Ovidia’s sword was always with her, hidden in the ether, waiting to come out and play whenever she needed it.
The group silently crept up to the manor house. As they walked into the foyer of the large home, a shrieking sound blared out. They all crouched down, covering their ears in an attempt to shield themselves from the piercing din.
Underneath the noise, they heard the thump of running footsteps as people came from all directions, running not toward them but away down a long hallway to a set of double doors with the same insignia they had seen tattooed on the men outside.
“Follow them,” Ovidia yelled over the screeching alarm. The group barreled down the hallway as a final man slipped through the doors, which lit up as he ran by, an obvious spell. Despite Erik’s best attempt to kick them open, they remained stubbornly shut.
“This is not working.” Erik muttered something under his breath and the doors began to glow a deep purple.
“Look,” Delphine called out over the din. A light was shining under the door, growing brighter and brighter until it seeped out of every crack and they had to cover their eyes. There was a mighty bang followed by a silence so complete it rang in their ears.
“What was that,” Delphine whispered, barely hearing her own voice over the ringing in her head.
The purple at the doors faded. Erik reached out and pushed them open. Where there should have been a room full of people, there was only one person lying on the ground, blood dripping from his ears and nose.
“Where did they go,” Delphine cried as they moved farther into the room.
“Jumped,” Erik said, bending down to pick up one of the vials strewn all around. Delphine looked down and noticed a large stone circle embedded in the floor. In the middle was the same strange symbol that kept showing up.
“What happened to this guy,” Ovidia asked, leaning over the man who lay half in and half out of the stone circle. Ovidia put two fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. She looked at the others and shook her head.
Flynn came over to hunch down next to her to examine the man. His face was drawn in pain, his skin pale and grey, the blood standing out sharply on his mottled skin.
“It looks like he was the victim of a potion gone wrong,” Flynn said, still staring at the body. “I have seen this before. Potions are meant for those of us with supernatural blood. Most humans have at least a trace of supernatural heritage due to intermarrying, but there is the odd human who does not have even a trace. This is the result of a pure human taking a potion. It is my guess that he attempted to jump with the rest and was unable to do so due to not having any supernatural blood with which to tolerate the potion.” Flynn stood from his crouched position and looked at the others. “That means the society members have escaped us again, and we again have no idea where or when they have gone.” He was obviously frustrated.
“They left in a hurry so maybe we can search this house. There is a good chance we will find a clue.” Delphine put a gentle hand on Flynn’s shoulder.
He rounded on her. “Why aren’t you angry? You have more reason than most to be upset with them after they kidnapped you and threatened your people.”
“I can get angry, but it will do no good. Based on their hasty exit, I imagine the prisoners are probably still here. We can rescue and interview them, and they may have a clue to where the society members jumped. We will find them, and when we do, I will exact my revenge. Now, we need to help the paranormals held prisoner here and look for evidence of where the society has gone,” Delphine finished, keeping her voice calm and soothing.
“Delphine is right. There is nothing we can do about the society for now, as much as it irks me to have been bested by a bunch of humans. We need to help whoever is trapped here and look for clues to where they may have gone,” Erik said in a slightly cool voice.
Flynn took a deep breath and nodded. What the others said made sense; he didn’t have to like it, but it made sense. “You’re right. Let’s contact the institute here and find the prisoners. There has to be some clue to where they jumped somewhere in this house—they did not have the time to destroy all the evidence,” he said, striding out of the room.
Delphine stood still, looking stricken. Flynn had never shown that type of anger before, had never talked to her in such a manner. A part of her was glad to know he had such fire and passion in him, but the royal part of her was affronted that someone would talk to her that way.
“He will cool off, he’s just angry that they got away,” Ovidia said quietly as she followed Erik out of the room.
Now was not the time to examine her feelings or to be affronted. There were lives at stake. They needed to free the captured and get them back to where they belonged, and there would be time to sort out her emotions later.
Delphine turned to take one last look at the body that lay on the floor of the ritual room. It made her sad to see one more casualty of the society, and this time it was someone who possessed not a drop of supernatural blood.
Chapter 14
The next few hours passed quickly, and Delphine shut her mind down to the horrors she saw. They went through the manor house with the help of the local members of the institute. Healers and mages came to help the supernaturals who could be helped, covering those who had become victims of the society. Delphine felt numb as she saw what the members had done to the other supernaturals, the depravity they harbored within them, and she felt her anger build into a rage as she went from room to room using the spell Flynn and the institute had come up with to remove the jeweled necklaces that held the supernaturals to that place.
Delphine found her hand creeping up to her neck in sympathy. She remembered when she had been kidnapped, the heavy feeling of the cold metal around her neck, how frightened she had been that she would die at the hands of the man who had started the society. He had died, but his terrible legacy had lived on, and the hollow-eyed souls they rescued were proof of evil in the world.
“Where are the supernaturals indigenous to the water,” Delphine asked, her voice trembling a bit. They had searched the entire mansion but had yet to find a trace of any kind of water sprite, mermaid, or Siren.
“They have to be here somewhere. We know the society captured Esme’s parents, so they have to be here,” Flynn said, running a frustrated hand through his hair.
“They are below,” came a soft voice from beside them. Delphine and Flynn turned
to see a wisp of a woman standing before them, the raw skin of her neck red and angry in the light of her torch, indicating where the collar of her enslavement had sat.
Delphine reached out as tears swam in her eyes, but the woman flinched away.
“I will not harm you. I want to heal the terrible wound on your neck.” Delphine again reached for the woman. She stiffened, standing straight with terror in her eyes, but a small glimmer of trust sparkled in her grey gaze.
Delphine reached inside herself for her healing magic, and the woman’s skin began to glow a cooling blue. When the color faded, her perfect ivory skin was again unblemished.
The woman ran a hand along her neck and smiled gratefully at Delphine. “Thank you,” she whispered, her grey eyes swimming with tears. Her willowy body, pointed ears, and delicate face marked her as one of the fae. Delphine hoped one day the haunted look would fade from her eyes.
“The water supernaturals are kept below. I was tasked with bringing them…” The woman looked at the ground as tears spilled over onto her cheeks. She took a deep breath and continued. “Tools they needed,” she finally finished, looking up into Delphine’s face, asking for forgiveness.
Delphine felt her anger flare at what had been done to her people, causing the fae woman to flinch away.
“Do not shy away, sister. My anger is not meant for you but for those who caused you harm.” Delphine spoke gently, burying her anger and rage. “How do we reach them,” she asked the woman.
The fae floated down the hallway, and Delphine and Flynn followed. She stopped at a point in the wall and traced a symbol upon it, one Delphine was beginning to both recognize and despise—the symbol of the society. The wall glowed softly and a piece of it swung open, revealing stone steps curving down into the darkness.
“They are there. Forgive me, but I cannot escort you—I don’t think I can stand to go down there even once more.” The fae looked at Flynn and Delphine, her eyes pleading for understanding.
“We will continue alone. Thank you for showing us the way.” Delphine ran a soothing hand down the arm of the other woman before looking at Flynn.
He nodded for her to start down the steps. The walls were cold and the stone slippery under their feet as they descended down below the manor house. The sounds of water lapping against stone greeted them as the staircase twisted and turned in what seemed like an endless darkness.
Delphine felt her heart quicken as a light began to show, dimly at first, brightening as they got closer. Sounds could also be heard—desperate sounds of sobbing and moaning along with the broken singing of a Siren trying and failing to use her song to free herself. Delphine shuddered. She did not want to continue, did not want to see what was in store for her behind the last twist in the stairwell. The carnage she had already witnessed had been hard, but these were people of the water—her people.
Delphine squared her shoulders and turned to smile gratefully at Flynn as he squeezed her shoulder from behind.
Slipping down the last few steps, they entered into a stone cavern. The scene that greeted Delphine would live in her memory until her dying day. The sight stole her breath and caused her heart to hammer.
The water fae were chained to the walls, some already dead, made to stare at the water they so loved but were unable to reach, the water that would save them. Their bodies hung limp from the chains, their faces sunken in.
“What happened to them,” Flynn whispered, the horror of the scene reflected in his tone.
“It is what happens to mermaids, Sirens, and other paranormals who need water to survive. What you see here is what befalls them when they are unable to get to water. We have to be in the sea as it nourishes us the same as food. Without salt water, we shrivel up and become like these poor souls…” Delphine pointed to the nearest body. The mermaid had tried to change into her other form, her body a grotesque thing frozen halfway through the change from human to mermaid. Her body was a dried up husk, a result of being unable to get to the water, and her wrists were bloody where she had tried to get out of the chains that bound her to the wall.
Delphine and Flynn hurried to unchain the few that remained alive, helping them into the water of the chamber.
“It is salt water so it will help heal them,” Delphine said, holding back her horror as she moved from one water sprite to a mermaid and a Siren, yanking off their collars and using her magic to help the water to heal them.
When she had reached the last one, she stood unsteadily on her feet. “Hey, I’ve got you.” Flynn wrapped an arm around her waist and Delphine leaned into him. She felt as if the slightest breeze could blow her away. She felt misty, insubstantial, and so very tired.
“Stay with me, Delphine. You have to stay with me,” Flynn said urgently as he started to drag her toward the stairs.
“No, we have to find Esme’s parents.” Delphine struggled against him, her words slightly slurred.
“We need to get you somewhere you can rest,” he said firmly, trying to steer her to the stone steps. He turned back to the others. “Someone will be here to help you soon.” The words had just left his mouth when members of the institute came down the stairs and into the subterranean space, rushing to assist the water supernaturals.
“Have any of you heard of a couple, a Siren and a mermaid who were brought here together?” Delphine looked around the dank rock cavern. A few shook their heads in the negative and then a mermaid said, “Yes, I know of the couple you seek.” Her sad eyes told the story before she spoke the words, and Delphine felt her heart sink. “They were brought here. The men tried to take his mate away to do some experiments, and he fought them. He was killed, and when the light disappeared from his eyes, she attacked. I am happy to say they killed at least two of the monsters, but her life was ended as well.” Tears tracked down her face.
“Where are the bodies,” Delphine whispered, feeling the last of her strength start to ebb. The mermaid pointed to a shadowy cove toward the back of the space. Delphine let go of Flynn and started moving in that direction, weaving slightly. Again she felt Flynn’s strong arm around her waist.
“Delphine.” The warning in his voice was clear.
“Please, Flynn, I have to see.” She looked up at him, her eyes begging him to understand.
He only nodded, picked her up, and walked toward the back of the cave. They lay there, next to each other, discarded like garbage. There had been no attempt to cover their bodies or make a proper burial. Delphine felt tears flow down her cheeks, her vision wavering and tunneling as the last of her strength faded away. She fell back against Flynn, closing her eyes as the tears tracked down her cheeks. He carried her away from the sight, his own eyes shimmering with tears.
Chapter 15
Delphine frowned as she felt something soft underneath her. She opened her eyes a slit and then frowned again. The familiar sight of her own bedroom greeted her. Sitting up and closing her eyes against the dizziness that came over her in waves, she sat still, waiting for it to subside.
“Hey there, how are you feeling?” Flynn sat behind her for support, wrapping her hand around a warm mug.
Delphine looked up into his concerned face. She took a sip from the mug and smiled gratefully. It was her favorite earl grey tea blend.
“Better, thank you. I had no idea a mass healing would affect me that way.” She shifted to lean against the pillows Flynn had piled against her headboard.
“You have to be more careful with yourself,” he admonished as he watched her sip her tea. She had been bone white and still as death, so he was glad to see some of the color had come back into her face.
“How long have I been out?”
“Two days. I fetched Clarissa and she said it was normal for a water supernatural to go into a hibernation after a mass healing. I also contacted your father, who assured me of the same thing.”
Delphine’s eyes popped wide. “You contacted my father?”
“I thought you were dying, Delphine, and I didn’t know what t
o do.” Flynn’s voice broke and he abruptly stood up from the bed to stride toward the doorway. “Now that you have recovered, I will let you be,” he said stiffly.
“Flynn, please come back,” she whispered.
He turned, walking back to sit next to her on the bed, his eyes wary.
Delphine leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his mouth, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes. “Thank you for taking care of me, for contacting Clarissa and my father. I’m sorry I frightened you.”
“I…I care for you, more than I should on such a short acquaintance.”
Delphine placed a hand on his face and smiled. “I care for you too, and after we figure out where the society has gone and this is resolved, I will show you how much.” She dropped her hand from his cheek and finished off her tea, enjoying the bemused expression on his face.“Have you checked on Esme?” She looked around, hoping to see the smiling cherub of a girl.
“I did. She has been having the time of her life staying with Teagan and Bran, and I brought her to see you,” Flynn said.
A murky half-dream surfaced in Delphine’s mind, the little girl putting her hand on Delphine’s face and giving her some of her own healing energy.
“Yes, she helped bring me back.” She smiled; the little one was going to be a powerful healer. At the thought of Esme, Delphine sobered. “Her parents…” She choked back a sob and looked at Flynn.
“While you were recovering, I was in contact with Erik and Ovidia. They wrapped the bodies and contacted the families, who put aside their differences to perform the funeral rites and return them to the sea,” Flynn said, a shimmer of tears in his own eyes, making his voice gravelly. “What will happen to her now,” he asked.
Delphine sighed. “We will have to find a family on the Siren isle that is willing to take a half-mermaid, half-Siren baby.”